


Courting Disaster

by HonestMistake



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alphas Can Kick Ass at Arts and Crafts, M/M, Prompto Needs to Know, Rating May Change, Tags May Change, Why is This Sexy?, kinkmeme fill
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-14
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2018-10-18 14:52:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10619232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HonestMistake/pseuds/HonestMistake
Summary: Prompto thought the Alpha Courting Behaviors and You lecture could never apply to him. He was wrong.Fill for this prompt on the Kinkmeme: http://ffxv-kinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/3016.html?thread=1957832#cmt1957832





	1. Arch Nemesis

The instant that Reproductive Health and Education Week ended Prompto had promptly placed the embarrassing series of lectures and power points firmly behind him. Sure some of the points made had been interesting and even a bit relieving to learn, such as how alpha's tended to scent anything and everything they even kind of liked, but for the most part it had just been embarrassing. No one needs or wants to see their balding middle aged teacher talk about sex. Just thinking about it is enough to make him cringe, the mental scars may never fade. 

Thanks to that week he would never be able to look at a potato chip the same way again and he couldn't even begin to think of eating one without blushing. He was just a beta and no matter what Mr. Pavo said knowing exactly why alphas could kick his ass at arts and crafts and why omegas found that kind of thing sexy wasn't in any way relevant to him.

If only he'd known then how very very wrong he was.

His this-mating-stuff-might-actually-have-something-to-do-with-me wake up call came about a month after Reproductive Health and Education Week ended. He walked into science class ready to face the day and feeling pretty great. He'd woken up on time, he had more than enough time to make and savor a good breakfast, he'd finished all of his homework, and then he looked at his worktable. His stomach dropped like the wall had collapsed, night had fallen, and an Iron Giant was rising out of a pool of darkness in the shattered remains of the worktable to squish him. 

His mouth went dry as his heart took off like a chocobo that had run into a behemoth and his face turned as red as a ripe Lucian tomato. His hands were shaking as he made his way to the his seat like a moth drawn to a candle flame unable to look away from it. Even the burning feeling of his classmates eyes following him their snickers and giggles ringing in his ears was not enough to shake him from his daze as he pulled his chair out and eased himself into it.

Sitting there on his part of the shared worktable was an arch made entirely out of premium, he could never afford to buy them for himself, Chocobo Bars. It wasn't just a bunch of candy bars stacked up one bar on top of another until it kind of looked like an arch either. Somehow this alpha had managed to defy the laws of physics to make it circular and hollow, the bars arranged so that they formed a swirling pattern that was made almost hypnotic by the way the colorful wrappers caught the light. At it's thinnest part it was as thick around as his biceps, and at it's thickest it was as large as his waist. It was tall enough that if he stood up on his chair he might have been able to touch the top of it. A chocobo shaped gift tag hung down from the apex of the arch, his name proudly displayed for all to see in a dark black elegant script that stood out like a beacon on the bright yellow background. 

It was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen in his life.

At least it had been until Noctis walked into the room with his shirt completely unbuttoned and his tie hanging loose around his neck. His shirt was untucked the fabric flowing around his hips in a way that drew the eye to the beginnings of abs. His hair was mussed hanging messily over his eyes and his mouth was curved into a wicked smirk. He prowled over to his desk with a predator's grace eyes burning with heat as they locked onto him. He leaned down into Prompto's space, one arm draping across the back of his chair while the other was braced on the table leaving the other boy feeling both trapped and safe. 

"Hey Prompto." Noctis purred his mouth rolling around every syllable of his name like he was tasting it and holy Astrals had his voice always been this husky?

"Hey Noctis." Prompto replied automatically wincing as his voice cracked and creaked out a decent impression of squealing tires. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Did you want to come over to my place after school, play a few rounds of Kings Knight?" He said casually with a smile that was all too sharp teeth and deadly promise as he somehow managed to lean in closer, his usually faint alpha musk so strong Prompto could actually taste the bitter salt and tang of it heavy in the air between them. He swallowed the scent seeming to fill up his lungs with ocean, citrus, tea, and spice, his heart kicking up a beat as Noctis' gaze dropped down to his throat his pink tongue peeking out from his lips for a moment. 

"I uh, sure." He squeaked as sirens wailed screaming danger, danger, danger in his brain.

"Good. I'll see you after school then." Noctis said his smirk making a glorious return and was it just him or had his voice gotten even deeper? 

Prompto's heart decided to give up any and all pretense of pumping normally as Noctis reached into the arch his hand moving from the back of his chair to the back of his neck and carelessly plucked a bar from the structure. Somehow miraculously it remained standing and Prompto had a moment to wonder if he'd planned that before Noctis held the bar out to him with a look on his face that was all desperation and hunger hidden behind a thin veil of indifference. "Here you still like the Spicy Pepper Chocobo Bars the most right?"

Prompto's brain suddenly flashed back to a few days ago when Noctis had given him a Chocobo Bar the scene repeating over and over again as one part of Mr. Pavo's lecture on alpha courting rituals echoed around in his head. 'Now when an alpha includes food in a display or even makes their display out of food it is always a symbol of sexual interest. An alpha looking to attract a mate will often initiate their courtship with an offering of food and if that offering is accepted a display made of or with the accepted food is sure to follow.'

"Yeah." He took the bar in a shaking hand with a smile so nervous it probably looked like a grimace inwardly cursing himself as his mouth spoke without any input from his brain. "Can't get enough of them."


	2. Miscommunication is Key

'Wait a second did I just get alpha engaged to Noctis?' 

The danger sirens in Prompto's brain started screaming again as he looked down at the Chocobo Bar in his hand and back up at the arch. The Iron Giant was back standing over him like a monolith and this time it wasn't content to just squish him, no this time it brought friends. Every fear he'd ever had of being discovered surrounded him and bubbled up like water in his lungs forcing out the air until he was gasping. There were some secrets you couldn't keep from a boyfriend? fiancé? mate? and he had so many secrets that Noctis could never know. He held secrets in his mind, in his blood, on his skin, too many secrets all written into the very core of him, all tied around the mark on his wrist. 

His stomach turned, the floor an ocean in a hurricane, all choppy seas and strong winds waves towering over him, more than enough to bowl him over, and he just wanted to sit still and breathe until the floor turned solid again. His heart felt like a balloon tied to a brick light enough to float away if not for the fear sitting heavy in his belly. There were so many things he just couldn't wrap his head around. He loved Noctis, he'd changed everything just to feel worthy enough to be near him, but he'd never once dreamed of catching him. Never once believed that there was anything in him Noctis could want, not with all his secrets hanging over his head.

"Prom are you alright?"The dangerous edge to Noctis faded with his smile his voice turning lighter and softer, losing the husky edge. His scent softened until the tea and citrus overtook everything else. The smell was comforting, more like the Noctis he knew but it was still different, the scent stronger than it usually was. He leaned into it pressing his nose closer to chase the familiarity until it was pressed against the collar of Noctis' unbuttoned shirt. 

He jerked back the tomato flush back in his cheeks and nodded stiffly his body refusing to move in any way that wasn't reminiscent of the jerky mechanical motions of an MT. "Yeah this is just a lot to take in dude, just give me a bit to freak out and I'll be right with you."

"Wait!" Noctis' face looks as though he's just seen lightning strike from a cloudless sky, like day has just dawned in the middle of the night, and he leaned in pressing his lips to Prompto's ear to trap the words between them, sending shivers through the other boy at each puff of air. "Did you want to keep it a secret from me?"

"Keep what a secret?" Prompto's voice lowered to match Noctis' tone, his voice catching as his mind was torn between the dizzying sensation of lips pressing against his ear and automatically cycling through every potential secret Noctis could be thinking of.

"We shouldn't talk about this here, we've got about a minute until Mr. Pavo shows so let's ditch." Noctis' smile was a sun so blinding that it overshadowed the light of his magic creeping from his fingers to overtake the arch and dissolve it into his armory. His eyes were sharp, but the look in them was no longer quite so hungry as he reached down and took Prompto's hand banishing the bar in it to the ether.

Prompto couldn't bear to look at his smile too afraid that his shadows and secrets would steal away that light. He forced a smile of his own to form, hoping it didn't look too fake despite knowing that it would, and nodded back. "Yeah, let's go." 

Noctis pulled him up from his chair and they took off running like angry coeurls were giving chase. They ran until they reached the school gate winded and panting, laughing like they'd tasted madness and were set to chase it down to taste some more. Noctis let go of his hand and wiped it off on his pants and Prompto did the same even as he secretly mourned the loss. Their hands had pressed against each other too tightly, their palms were too warm and slick with moisture. It was uncomfortable, all sticky and gross, but Prompto could have held Noctis' hand forever. 

The walk to Noctis' apartment was spent in silence, it hung about them in the air like a thick fog, seemingly impenetrable. Prompto wasn't normally one to let a silence linger, but this time there was too much pressing at the corners of his mind eating away at his words, too much of Noctis, the arch, his secrets, and everything that could go possibly wrong. He was trapped between a rock and a hard place pinned between his desires and his fears.

When they reach the apartment Prompto toes off his shoes and drops his bag by the door before he walks past the normal teenage mess and throws himself down on Noctis' couch. It feels like a cloud covered in buttery leather and as he'd once told Noctis anyone who wouldn't throw themselves on it lacks a soul.

Noctis paused at the coffee table his lips pulled back in a wary smile, his hand lit up in brilliant white blue energy the arch taking form in all it's spiraling hypnotic beauty, and Prompto longed for his camera. The moment passed too soon and Noctis threw himself down beside him. It's almost normal, except they're just sitting there in a silence that is practically a living thing for how thoroughly it strangles them. The tv sits dead in front of them, the consoles are untouched, their phones are still in their bags, and there's nothing to distract them from the untold secrets hovering just beneath the surface.

Noctis sighed as he leaned back into the couch, his posture at odds with the way his eyes are sharp as daggers, piercing right through him, his scent subtly shifting more toward tea in an effort to calm. "I know what you are Prompto. I understand why you'd want to keep it a secret, I'm not upset with you."

"I was afraid that if you knew what I was you wouldn't want to be friends with me. Sounds silly right." Prompto rubbed at his wrist and smiled weakly forcing himself to be more confident than he felt.

He could feel Noctis' eyes on him, could see his hands clench and unclench on his knees in the corner of his eye, could even smell when his scent dulled the tea and citrus taking on a flat note as he grew more and more distressed. "Do you really think that would matter to me Prompto? You're not my friend because you have to be or because you want to get something out of me, you're my friend, because you wanted to be my friend. You're the first person who ever treated me like I'm just me, you've never expected me to be anything more than who I am. You're my best friend and I'd never let something insignificant like what you are ruin that." 

"So it really doesn't matter to you?" There was so much hope in those words they were like a chain around his neck ready to be released or tightened at a moments notice.

"Why would it matter, you didn't think you were the only one in Insomnia did you?" He says it like it's a fact and the bluntness of it hits Prompto in the chest with all the force of a training blade.

I've never had any reason to think otherwise, the thought burns in his mind white hot and so loud it's nearly impossible to keep it trapped in his head. It hurts more than he expected it to, learning that he wasn't alone but no one trusted him enough to know. It's like in those cartoons he used to watch where someone would run off a cliff and Just keep running on the air before realizing what just happened and gravity would catch up with them sending them plummeting to a rocky violent landing. His heart, his mind, his everything is hovering in the air and suddenly he's plummeting toward the ground with nothing to cushion his fall. 

"Does anyone else know?" He takes a breath, fills his lungs until they hurt, until they burn and scream from the pressure.

Noctis smiles at him his lips pulled back gently, his eyes warm and open like he somehow understands everything. "As far as I know it's just Ignis and Gladio but you shouldn't worry about them. They don't care what you are and they aren't about to go shouting it from the rooftops either."

And that made sense, of course the Prince's Advisor and his Shield would know, they'd probably learned everything they could about him when he'd first started to hang with Noctis. They were pretty powerful people, certainly enough to get ahold of his records and they didn't care, and way more importantly Noctis didn't care. Even knowing that there are others he was never told about the sun bursts to life in his chest and he has to swallow down the laughter that wants to escape from his mouth. In his wildest dreams he'd never dared to think it was possible and now birds had been loosed in his chest leaving his heart light and fluttery. Deliriously happy the thought crosses his mind that nothing could ever ruin this moment.

Could a knock on the door prove someone wrong, because the sound of it reverberating through the room sent the birds in his chest plummeting to his stomach. Noctis groaned and rolled off the couch walking to the door like a noose was tightening around his neck with every step. He opened the door and a scowling behemoth of a man walked into the room like he owned it. His arms were crossed over his chest, his hoodie and sweatpants straining at the seams to cover endless firm mountains of muscle. His skin was tawny with the kind of tan that only came from hours spent in the sun, hair tied back revealing that the sides of his head were shaved. His eyes were sharp liquid amber under dark defined brows. 

But the one thing that stood out the most to Prompto wasn't the way he looked but the way he smelled. Like marshmallows toasted over a blazing fire, like dark chocolate and bitter cold, like smoke and cinnamon, like wilderness and home. It flooded the room, overwhelming, sharp as a knife and wholly unapologetically omega. Prompto had heard stories about how a pissed omega could tear a man limb from limb, this man looked like he wouldn't even need to be pissed to tear someone to shreads. 

He scanned the room taking in the whirlwind mess of wrappers, papers, bottles, and cans, and the arch sitting on the coffee table. The furrow of his brows growing deeper as he scoffed in disgust. His eyes locked onto Noctis and the grin that passed over his lips promised pain."Get dressed in your training gear, grab some water and snacks and be ready to go in five. You know the rules Noct, ditch school if you like but then you have to train twice as long with me. You too Blondie, you wanna skip school you face the consequences."

"I've never trained before and I don't really have anything to wear and Mom'll kill me if I ruin the uniform." Prompto sank back into the couch willing the leather cloud to open up and swallow him in a cushy suffocating death.

"You aren't getting out of it that easily, go and borrow some of Noct's clothes. If he let's you laze around in his clothes when you two have your little sleepovers he should have no problem lending you some to train in." Gladio cocked his head to the side his lips pulled back in a wolfish feral grin.

Gladio chuckled to himself as Prompto fled from the room to seek out Noctis and outright laughed when Prompto's slightly squealing panicked voice rang through the apartment as he pounded on Noctis' door. "Hey Noct you got anything I can wear?"

"Yeah!" Noctis' voice was followed by the sound of clothing being chucked at someone and Prompto's whining cry when the clothing hit him.

"Dude that was my face!"

Galdio rolled his eyes at the boys antics before he looked at his phone and shouted loud enough for both of them to hear."I gave you five minutes to get ready, you've got a minute left. Get a move on! If you think training twice as long is too much then you're really gonna love it when you have to train three times as long because you couldn't move your asses!"


	3. Hit by a Training Montage

"You two better be ready, we're leaving now." Gladio's shout rings through the apartment like a bullet from a gun just as Prompto manages to get the black sweatpants Noctis had thrown at him tied tight enough around his waist that they won't fall down and embarrass him in the middle of whatever training Noctis' scary omega friend has in mind. 

"That was so not five minutes." He says under his breath as he straightens out his wristband making sure the strip of white and green fabric sits just right on his wrist and his secret remains hidden. 

‘I don’t have to wear this anymore.’ The thought pops up into his head and chirping away like a songbird in his brain singing, ‘Noctis knows, Noctis knows.’

His fingers tease at the edges of the band pulling it just far enough away from the skin that he can see the black of the ink. His lips tremble as a sickening sour feeling creeps through his mouth tightening his throat and his lips pull back into a grimace. He tugs the band back down and reluctantly leaves the bathroom with it covered. He walks through the short hall into the living room where Gladio stands sentinel by the door. The omega looms over him with his scent as much as his body. His arms bulge as they cross over his chest and Prompto finds his eyes drawn back to the unfairly tight hoodie, the lines of his muscles barely even hidden beneath the fabric. 

"So, you're this Prompto I've heard all about?" Gladio raised a brow, amber eyes piercing right through him like arrows. 

"Uh, yeah you must be Gladio, I've heard a lot about you too." His feet move beneath him, shuffling under the weight of those eyes as his voice mimics it, too loud at first before it softened to almost nothing.

"I'm sure." Gladio's voice rolls from his lips and hits the open air with careless precision the disbelief in it sharp as a blade. 

His eyes finally move sliding away from Prompto to glare at something behind him and his chest shudders in relief as a world is lifted from his shoulders. He turns following Gladio’s gaze and smiles as he takes in Noctis in an outfit that almost matches the one he’d thrown at him to wear.

Gladio’s lips pull back from his teeth, baring them in a friendly sort of threat. "Just in time Princess any later and I would have carried you out the door myself."

The image of Noctis being flung carelessly over those huge shoulders and carted off like a bag of potatoes overtakes his mind with the brilliance of a sunrise. His heart flips over in his chest like a dog rolling over to show its owner its belly his voice creaking out of his throat. "Wait really?"

"He's done it before." Noctis shrugged as he walks out of his apartment like it isn’t a big deal and it barely even registers as something strange to him. He says it like everyone has a giant buff behemoth bodyguard friend that slings them over their shoulders and carries them off to keep them from slacking when they don’t feel like working out that day. 

Prompto follows Noctis out into the hall a tension he hadn’t even felt building in his shoulders releases as he takes in a breath of air that isn’t heavy with agitated pheromones. He steps aside as Gladio walks out of the apartment and let’s Noct through to lock the door. “So where are we headed? I’m not usually invited along on these things.”

“To the Citadel training halls.” Gladio’s hand lands on his shoulder with a squeeze that prevents his body from jumping. “We’ll get you a badge when we get there.”

 

Before this whenever Noctis had talked about the Citadel Training halls he’d pictured a gym, albeit a much nicer gym than the ones he’d joined before. He’d imagined a nearly endless assortment of treadmills, exercise machines, and weight stations all of them state of the art and sturdy enough to handle an army’s worth of usage. He’d pictured people constantly moving back and forth surrounded by an air of camaraderie and friendly scents. Looking around he felt a bit disappointed that the legendary training room where Noctis had knocked out a tooth running into a wall didn’t resemble a gym in the slightest. 

The training hall looked more like an empty room where someone had said, ‘we’re not using this but since we have all this empty space we should let people fight in here’. The only equipment in the room was a weapons rack that sat against the wall, filled in an almost artistic way with almost every kind of weapon he could think of save heavy gear and guns. There was no one else there and that was almost relieving because while the room was big it would have been one of the smallest gyms he’d seen since he’d started making enough money to move into the nice one by Noctis’ apartment. It didn’t even have that stale sweat and pheromone smell that lingered in every gym he’d ever entered in his life either. It smells like lemon cleaner, the nice kind that’s designed to kill scent markers without leaving a strong scent behind. 

Noctis nuzzles up against him drawing him out of his thoughts and back into the real world. He lets the scent of oranges and spice watch over him as he takes in the way Gladio inspects a sword that looks like it was designed more for decoration than actual use by the weapons rack. His stomach dips as Gladio lifts it up and rests the flat side against his shoulder like it was made of balsa wood instead of what must be solid steel. He’d thought it was too big to be of any real use in a fight but the smug grin on Gladio’s face says otherwise. It’s huge almost as big as Gladio is and just as intimidating. It’s the kind of weapon that a video game character would only be able to use after level fifty if they were already strong to begin with. it looks like it could kill him if it tipped over and the sharp side hit him, like his bones wouldn’t even slow it down.

"Prompto since you're new to this I'm going to let you observe first and after I kick Noct’s ass I'll take you through a few practice fights to get an idea of where you're at and where we need to focus. You’ll switch off with Noctis after every round so take the opportunity to pay attention to how he fights. You’ve got a similar body structure so his fighting style will be of more benefit to you than mine. If you suck, which you will, don't worry about it you're here to learn. After I kick your ass don’t be too hard on yourself." Gladio says as by some miracle he manages to sound like he’s not lugging around a sword that is honestly too big to be used as a sword without something supernatural going on. 

Prompto somehow manages to tear his eyes away from the ginormous sword of doom and death for long enough to look him in the face, his voice wavering and unsteady. "Yeah sounds good."

“You ready Noct?” Gladio’s voice rings with smug challenge as he saunters out onto the middle of the training room floor. 

“As I’ll ever be.” Noctis says after a breathy sigh sounding more bored than anyone about to fight someone with that sword should be. He nuzzles up against Prompto again before walking out to meet Gladio in the middle of the hall, the look on his face almost serene in spite of the playful smirk that dances on the edge of his lips.

He's heard Noctis complain about training hundreds of times before, but it had always been the kind of complaining that's more for show than anything, the kind that says secretly I love this but my pride won't let me admit it so I'm going to lie through my teeth and say that it sucks. Watching him walk out onto the training room floor sword shimmering into existence in his fist however it's easy to tell that he's pleased as a fish in water. 

Noctis throws his sword at Gladio and slips through the air like a fish through water, his body disappearing into swaths of blue light that streaks through the space between them like a bolt of lightning. He reappears in midair amongst a rain of crystal dust his hand curled around the blade he'd thrown with a lazy sort of ease. He launches into an attack using the momentum he got from warping bringing his sword down on Gladio like a guillotine. Somehow even with a sword the size of a fully-grown man weighing him down and muscles that the Archaean himself would be proud of Gladio is just fast enough to block him.

The clang rings through the training room like a gong signaling that playtime is over. Noctis' blade slides across Gladio's with the high scraping sound of metal against metal and Prompto has to clench his teeth to convince himself that he can't feel it. Noctis' body glows blue as he backs away from Gladio dodging the fist that should have swept him off of his feet in the space of a blink. He swings again and Noctis' body flashes with light as he steps out of the path of the blade ducking beneath it. 

Gladio smirks viciously as a wave of toasted marshmallow and dark chocolate hits him like he's just run into a wall of it. He has to breathe through his mouth and the scent still sends shockwaves through his gut and fireworks down his limbs as it makes his brain feel like it's been wrapped in a heavy layer of cotton as his thoughts dive straight into the gutter. Those thoughts aren't helped by the way Gladio's shirt clings to his body his skin shining with sweat. He winces in sympathy as his eyes dart to Noctis, the alpha has to be feeling it so much more than he is, and takes in the sudden stillness as Noctis' heaving chest becomes the only part of him that isn't frozen in place.

A growl travels through the air and rakes claws down Prompto's back, the hairs on his neck standing at attention. He swallows his mouth suddenly dry eyes wide as he takes in the tension in Noctis' body, the way every part of him seems like it's pulled tight ready to snap like a rubber band pulled to send it flying across a room. His knuckles turn white as his grip tightens around the hilt of his sword and the atmosphere of the room suddenly grows thick like the air before a thunderstorm. Oranges and spice mingle with Gladio's scent in a way that burns through his nose. He feels like he's been glued to the seat, he can't move, can’t even breathe in spite of the feeling screaming that he needs to be closer. 

Noctis' body vanishes into a warp as he flings his sword into the pillar behind Gladio. He hangs from it when he reappears his chest heaving as his body swings back and forth in the air above them. Only the hilt of his sword stands between him and a very unpleasant meeting with the floor, which is stone. Prompto's head reels at the sight the only thought going through his mind is why is the training room floor stone and not springy matts or something that isn't going to make the crown prince go splat if he slips. 

Noctis suddenly launches himself from the pillar vanishing into a blue blur hitting Gladio in a shimmer of magic, the omega stumbles forward with a grunt his body turning so that he twists out of the reach of Noctis' sword. They exchange blows that miss by millimeters, Noctis' body glowing blue more often than it isn't. Noctis suddenly stumbles with a pained wince on his face as his hand reaches up to clutch at the side of his head. 

Gladio's eyes flash as his sword swings at Noctis the blade flashing blue as it seems to slide through Noctis like an oar through water, the blow knocks Noctis to the ground his hands flying to his chest. There’s no wound, no blood or gore, nothing but a residual blue glow where the killing blow should have been. He sits up and lifts his neck as Gladio brings his sword down to rest beneath his chin his eyes flashing even as his body submits in defeat. "You can't let a pretty scent take your mind out of a fight, but you held out pretty well, good job. Take a short break and be ready to go again in a few."

Gladio reaches down and grabs Noctis' arm pulling him up onto his feet with a grin. Their scents start to fade from the room as the aggression fades, slowly overpowered by calming tea and smoke, and the vise that kept Prompto's breath trapped in his lungs finally releases.

"Okay Blondie now it's your turn." Gladio's teeth pulled back from his lips in a sharp smile, grinning at Prompto like a cat grins at a bird with a broken wing. For years to come that smile is going to haunt his nightmares, or his dreams, probably both. His smile seemed to sharpen somehow and Prompto swallowed trying to dispel the sudden tightness in his throat, it would be both, definitely both. His little birdie heart was frozen in his chest, the ice creeping outward until Gladio's hand lands on his shoulder with enough strength to make his lungs jump in his chest. 

"Okay." He croaks as he's led by the strong arm on his shoulder over to the weapons rack.

Gladio peruses the selection for a moment and Prompto looks at the rack with a mix of awe and fear. There are no guns, no bows, no crossbows, in short there is nothing that specializes in long range combat, it's just a collection of bladed weapons and a couple of staffs, all so pristine they look like they're only touched to be polished. Some of the swords are made from wood or bamboo, most are metal their sharp blades polished to a blinding shine. He swallows nervously his blood running cold as his mind betrays him with snippets of his nightmares. His mind overflows with visions of gleaming blades, of grit between his fingers, of sharp burning pain, and the scent of oil and sanitizer and blood.

"Eventually you'll find something to specialize in but for now we'll start with a standard training blade. It's blunted but you will treat this like a real weapon, I'm sure you're mature enough that you will not play around with this blade like a toy." Gladio's voice draws him from the shadows as he holds a weapon out to him, a short sword made of wood and polished to a glowing shine. 

Prompto nods and takes the blade, turning it over trying to ignore the way it sits like a brick in his hand. He should have something shorter, the thought flickers into his head and vanishes before he can pin it down. Gladio's hands are giant as they cover his own, his fingers nudging Prompto's into a proper grip. He speaks instructing him on how to hold his new sword and what to do but it's like listening to white noise, none of the words make any more sense than crackling static buzzing in his ears, it's like listening to a math lesson spoken out loud without any notes to help translate it. Gladio releases his hands apparently content with his corrections for the moment and steps away from him his giant sword dissolving into a training blade that is just as big as the last one but seems to be made of the same wood as the training blade he’d pressed into his hands.

Prompto holds up the blade in a pale imitation of Noctis' stance, his legs feel too far apart and they want to shift closer together, they know in the same way his hands seem to know whenever he picks up the arcade guns. They know how to bend, where to shift, that this stance is wrong in almost every way but he stays stubbornly still. Shadows unfurl inside him, ice cold with fingers stretching toward his heart like the bare branches of dead trees in winter. He swallows down the protest that wants to rise up in his throat and lets the ‘I cant’s’ and ‘please don’ts’ linger in his ribcage. He’s not ready for more than this right now and his hands ache for the more comforting weight of his camera or the plastic guns from the arcade something familiar and safe.

Gladio raises his sword cutting through the air and blurring his vision until it's not Gladio who rushes toward him with an impassive look on his face. It's not Gladio that swings at him that first time, his eyes are filled with the dull shine of metal and burning red. He doesn't even register when the flat of Gladio's blade catches him in the center of his chest, forcing the air from his lungs in an involuntary gasp, until after he hits the floor knees first. His sword lands too far in front of him to reach before Gladio lands the killing blow, his sword swinging to tap gently at his temple resting there as the older man looks down at him.

"You're distracted, get your head out of your ass and into the fight or you're going to keep getting your ass handed to you." Gladio’s voice is strangely gentle as he reaches down and grabs his sword from where it rests on the ground before tossing it to him one handed with ease. 

He swallows against the tension in his throat and reaches out to catch the blade. His fingers tremble and the grip slips through his sweat slick hands hitting the floor with a sharp thud. "Sorry!"

"You can calm down this is just a spar, we're just going to work on avoidance for now, all you have to do is make sure you don't get hit. Now dry off your hands and we'll try this again." Gladio’s voice settles over him like a blanket chasing the chill from his bones. 

“Okay, just take it easy on me big guy.” He manages a nervous smile hoping to give off an air of harmlessness.

“Yeah that’s not gonna happen.” Gladio says before charging at him like a behemoth after the scent of fresh blood.

He flings up his sword just in time to have Gladio’s blade crash against it and relief floods him as Gladio grins down at him instead of the blurry metal thing that had taken his place earlier. Gladio’s feral grin renders his eyes a burning gold that send a shiver of terror straight down his side. “Now that’s more like it, but can you keep it up, or was that just beginner’s luck.”

He manages something that feels like a smile his arms shaking under the pressure of both Gladio and his giant blade bearing down on him. His heart stops as his grip slips and Gladio’s sword passes straight through him fire burning through flesh and bone in an inferno that should be painful but isn’t. His mind is a blank screen as he hits the floor the jolt booting it into life as it starts to scream the words ‘oh god’s’, ‘I’m dying’, ‘I’m dead’, over and over until the lack of pain and the sight of Gladio looking like he’s trying to hold back laughter registers. He glares at the other man as the painless fire dies down as quickly as it hit into a warmth that’s almost pleasant. “It’s beginner’s luck .”

 

"I think Gladio is seriously trying to kill me. My legs don't even feel like legs anymore and the bones in my arms are vibrating! I really don't think swords are for me." Prompto knelt on the floor hands on his kneecaps as he struggled to take in rattling breaths of air holding himself up by pure force of will. 

"No, I don't think they are, you spent half the time running like you were being chased around by a mad behemoth." Noctis pushed himself up on his elbows just to smirk at him before he collapsed back down to lie prone his arms folded behind his head to form a pillow.

"You mean I wasn't?" He gasps heaving like a fish thrown onto a dock unable to breathe.

"Save your breath, I won't be taking it easy on you anymore next time." Gladio walked past them his breaths calm and even, practically purring as he smirked. 

Prompto narrowed his eyes in jealousy taking in the way his chest barely moved and the thin sheen of sweat that left him looking sexy instead of hanging at deaths door like he did, before the words Gladio said processed in his mind and became something more than an unintelligible jumble of sounds. "Next time! Noct please you have to put me out of my misery! I want my inevitable death to be quick and painless." 

Prompto fell dramatically to his knees and collapsed onto his back. He thumped his chest with his fist, carefully to avoid any developing bruises and threw his arms out over his head so he was splayed out like a starfish. "Make it quick for me Noctis right through the heart!"

Noctis sighed as he picked himself up just so Prompto could see him rolling his eyes. "No can do Prompto, you're just going to have to suffer with the rest of us." 

"Traitor!" He hisses halfheartedly, unable to keep up with his chest feeling like everything inside it has been spilled across the floor. 

"You'll live." 

 

The familiarity of Noctis’ apartment settles over him like a well-loved jacket, safe and comfortable. He collapses back on the couch his entire body aching like he'd thrown himself down a rocky hill. The long hot shower he'd taken was enough to soothe away most of the ache in his muscles, but some of it is persistent lingering under his skin with a promise that he'd be feeling it even worse in the morning. He rubbed at the soreness on his shoulders and tried to relax, maybe even get a nap in. Too much had happened and even though his body was thoroughly worn out and ready for a quick catnap his mind was still wide awake and mulling over everything that had happened. 

The arch still stood on the table, a monument to the impossible suddenly becoming possible, and it gleams in the light from the windows sending streams of color out across the apartment from where the light hits the foil. He stares at it as droplets of water drip down from his hair into his shirt soaking through the fabric. He picks at the worn edges of his wristband a loose thread unraveling between the pads of his fingers. Noctis likes him, like really likes him and under normal circumstances that would be more than enough to floor him. It’s more than he’s ever been able to bring himself to wish for.

The bathroom door swings open sending a wave of wet heat out to flood the room. His breath turned to lead in his lungs as Noctis closes in on him, shirtless and dripping wet, as soon as the door shuts behind him. He's caged in, trapped by a weight in his chest that might as well be a black hole for how it sucks him in as Noctis leans over him and straddles him. He leans in so closely that both of their senses are overwhelmed by the blue of each other’s eyes and their scents intermingling with clean skin and the scent of Noctis’ expensive soap. His body is still damp from the shower, water dripping from his hair landing with little splashes on his skin and sinking into his borrowed shirt. 

Prompto's heart jumps and runs inside his chest, a startled chocobo pursued by a predator as Noctis bares gleaming teeth in a smile that sends heat and ice to war in the depths of his belly. Part of him wants to push Noctis off of him, not to get away, but because he knows that if he were to run now he wouldn’t get away, Noctis would chase after him and the throb of want that goes through him is almost painful. He can’t move though; his arms are like ice frozen under the gentle press of Noctis’ hands as the alpha leans in moving agonizingly slow seeming trapped in time. He’s frozen until Noctis reaches nestles his head up against the side of Prompto's neck presses his nose up against the tender skin beneath his jaw and breaths in deep, his entire body shuddering. 

Prompto's lips part in a soundless oh as the lightbulb in his brain turns on, the sudden realization of what Noctis is doing sends and embarrassed flush down his cheeks. He tilts his head to the side giving Noctis room to press up closer against him. The warm snuffling breaths and wet brush of fine hair against the sensitive skin of his throat sending sparks crackling down his spine like spider web cracks in glass. The birds returned to his chest as Noctis ran his hands down his arms spreading his fingers across his skin. The familiarity of the motions does little to calm the flush painting itself across his cheeks and creeping down his neck.

His mind blanked every sound, every sensation, every thought that isn't Noctis crumbles to ash at the wet heat that bloomed over his skin and the sharp sting in his neck as Noctis bit at his collar. His stomach tightened as his mouth parted in a soundless gasp as softness and heat soothed over the pain only to follow it up with another sting. His blood turned to fizz, light and bubbly, as the familiar motions of scenting were abandoned, Noctis' hands sliding under his shirt exploring his stomach with rough unrelenting pressure as he bit his way across his neck with alpha sharp teeth sending jolts of pain and pleasure sparking behind his closed eyes. Prompto's mouth went on without him, parting in broken cries of Noctis' name, little gasps, and drawn out moans that stole what little breath he could remember to breathe in. 

Noctis' hands slipped out from under his shirt and over the planes of his shoulders gripping them like he could fall apart the second he let go. He pulled away from Prompto's neck lips shining swollen and slick, eyes blown wide and wanting sending lava crawling through Prompto's veins in unbearable heat. He was burning alive, not that he could say he really minded that, not when he couldn’t think past the growing haze in his mind. They surged together magnetically charged, arms and legs scrambling for purchase as chapped bitten lips met lips that were softer, less abused.

Kissing him was like that time he'd accidentally run into an electric fence on a school trip. He could feel that jolt that went through him, the almost painful but mostly thrilling thumping of his heart as tingling spread through his body from his lips down through to his chest and lower. Heat pooled in his stomach filling it like a cup and spilling over into his veins. Noctis tasted like magic, like he'd found a way to kiss light and life itself, and he wanted to drown in the sensation. 

There's an innocent sort of viciousness to their kisses, a careless hunger that cries more, more, more as they press closer together. Their teeth find each other’s lips biting and pulling, coaxing moans and gasps out of each other the sounds and cries muffled by the press of their mouths swallowed up by each other. Their fingers tangle up in each other’s hair tugging mewling, desperately trying to get closer. 

Noctis' hands release his shoulders and slide down his arms to stop at his wrists. His thumb slips beneath the wristband to press both thumbs into the skin of his wrists. Prompto gasps into his mouth and flinches away, the feeling of someone else touching his wrist sending a wave of wrongness crashing over him, the Iron Giants reforming in an instant like night had fallen again. His fingers tug at his wristband turning and pulling at it until it sits smoothly in the grooves it's made for itself on his wrist. He feels cold like the lava has frozen over and now there's stone in his veins jagged and cracked. 

Noctis pulls away his flushed face quickly turning white as freshly fallen snow before the flush returns with a sudden vengeance. "My hand slipped!"

"Dude really?"


	4. Getting Schooled

“Did you really think I was going to buy that?” Prompto says as he looks up at the shell-shocked form of Noctis his chest doing a weird swooping thing that makes him feel like he’s falling and flying all at once. 

Tension bleeds off of him as he takes in all of Noctis’ expressions, he really isn’t that hard to read and he’s gotten good at decoding him, and the apologetic guilt is as clear to him as a written sign. It’s easier than it probably should be for him to smile once his brain kicks back in like a generator turning on after losing power. It’s easy to lean back and cross his legs putting on a show of bravado as something inside him sparks to life with a whisper of ‘he knows, he knows, he knows, and ‘he still chose you’ growing louder and brighter with every repetition ringing like ceremonial bells. The orange spice in the air turns bittersweet sticking to his tongue and making it feel heavy in his mouth. His chest is drowning with it melting into something that screams for comfort and closeness and rattles about in his brain like it’s trying to knock something loose. 

“No. I honestly don’t know what I was thinking. Sorry Prom.” Noctis’ tone softens, his eyes earnest and steady as his lips curl in an apologetic smile.

“If you were thinking you totally could have found a better excuse. Why were you even doing that anyway?” He smiles all teasing and light, poking fun and distracting them both from the heaviness still souring the air around them.

“Did you pay any attention in health class at all?” Noctis’ eyes roll dramatically and he doesn’t give him any time to answer but his smile is bright and teasing as he reaches out for Prompto’s hand. “Okay fine let me show you.” 

He holds up his own hand turning it so Prompto can see where it’s slightly swollen just below where the wrist joins to the hand and presses Prompto’s thumb against that spot. “Okay now press here as hard as you can and massage it in small circles.” 

Prompto nods pressing his thumb down and massaging the swollen spot. After a few seconds it gets much easier, the friction erased by a thin oil that smells so heavily of Noctis it makes his mouth water. He wants to lean in, wants to press his lips against that spot, wants to bite it and suck it and lave his tongue against it and rub it against his face and that is not normal. He pulls away from Noctis his face flushing as the pictures form in his mind one after the other each one jockeying for position at the forefront of his mind. He has to stop himself from bringing his thumb to his mouth to taste it, grabbing his wrists to keep them down and away from his face. He looks up at Noctis his flush growing deeper as he can see the pure want reflected in the other’s eyes. 

“Scent glands huh? I guess that explains a few things.” He says quickly hoping to distract himself from the sudden onslaught of visceral fantasies dancing around in his brain wiping his hands off on his pants and praying that he doesn’t do something embarrassing with them later. 

“Yep betas and suppressed dynamics don’t secrete oil but pressing against them should still feel good. I didn’t know it would make you so upset.” Noctis tilts his head and shrugs his confusion adding a soft edge to his scent.

“Well at least now I understand what you were doing.” Prompto doesn’t have to force a smile as relief floods through him. His confidence returned as it hits him that Noctis wasn’t trying to expose him or force him to talk before he was ready, he’d just wanted to make him feel good. “I’ll just have to pay more attention next time they talk about this stuff in class.”

“Yeah like you pay attention in history?” Noctis looks at him with a raised brow, his lips curved in a smile. His teasing is just what the doctor ordered, the familiarity of it a breath of fresh air under this ocean of new things to deal with. 

“Hey, it’s not my fault Mr. Pavo could put anyone to sleep.” Prompto falls into to the tug of war easily letting himself be overdramatic for effect as he points at Noctis his finger wagging in the air as he, let the mundanity of the ‘argument’ take him away. “He talks in a monotone and he drones on and on about the same subject for the entire period, and I for one never fell asleep in that class but I seem to recall you snoring away last week.”

“Prompto they practically drilled my family history into me from the age of three, I had tutors and everything. I can afford to sleep through history.” Noctis’ voice is a careful kind of flat as he places his hand on his shoulder and pats it twice before letting it fall to the side. 

Prompto tilts his head in confusion as he tries to puzzle out why that sentence seemed off, but he shrugs it off after a second. Whatever it was it couldn’t be any more shocking than Noctis making him the arch. “And the rest of us are cursing you for that in our heads while we have to listen to Mr. Pavo name the entire Royal Line from beginning to end as he describes each and every one of their glorious achievements without falling asleep in our textbooks.” He embellished glorious achievements by placing a hand to his heart as the other fluttered out in front of him a condescending sort of rolling wave. 

“Well here soon you won’t have that problem either, Ignis has already agreed to tutor you and then we’ll both be able to sleep through history.” Noctis collapses boneless into the seat beside Prompto the sudden press of his body doing its best to distract him from the words coming from his mouth.

Prompto felt his brain come to a screeching stop his entire body suddenly tense as a bowstring the word tutor bouncing around in his head like a dancer at a rave. “Wait why is Ignis tutoring me, why am I getting the feeling that this is a bad thing?”

“We’re courting and that means if everything works out you’ll be expected to know things, history is one of them. You’ll also need to know court etiquette, proper table manners, how to dance, how to dress properly for your station, and you’ll have to memorize a list of the most important packs in Insomnia as well as the names of every member, and all that fun stuff.” He says as he pats Prompto’s leg in time to his last three words in a gesture that felt more mocking than comforting.

“Come on Noct do I have to?” Prompto whines his shoulders slumping and body sliding down and sinking deeper into the couch as he goes limp. He perks up as a thought occurred to him, one that would probably end in failure but it was a chance, right? “Can’t we just run off somewhere and live in hiding till this all blows over? By the time we get back everyone will be so happy to see you that they’ll forget all about teaching me.”

“That’s because they’ll be too busy fitting you for your prison jumpsuit.” Noctis says his voice tinged with laughter.

Prompto gasps his voice pitching high into a southern girl impression. “Sometimes I don’t know why I put up with you.”

“You’ll get over it, now come on. Let’s waste your last day of freedom doing something fun, we can hit the arcade and we can play that shooting game you like.” Noctis suddenly stands up from his seat and grabs Prompto’s hand pulling him up with an exaggerated grunt. 

“Can’t you just tell Ignis I died?” Prompto whines as Noctis drags him up off of the couch and throws his arm over his shoulder leading them to a door with a grin on his face.

“Sorry Prom no can do,” Noctis’ voice dropped into a conspiratorial stage whisper his eyes and scent bright with mischief. “Ignis knows everything.” 

 

Either he’s going crazy or he’s lost all his ability to freak out over it, but Prompto wakes up the next morning feeling like he could fight the Archaeon and win. After his training with Gladio and his running around with Noctis afterward he fell into bed and slept like a brick. He feels great in spite of the tension in his muscles from his workout and his mind is strangely clear. He lies back and stares at his ceiling wondering just what it is that has him so giddy when the answer hits him like a ton of feathers, still a ton but way more pleasant to be buried under than bricks, he isn’t going to lose his friendship with Noctis at the end of senior year.

He’s been secretly dreading graduation for ages, ever since it occurred to him that as just some guy he’d never be allowed to hang around Noctis when school ended. They’d be pulled apart as Noctis had to take up more and more of the responsibilities associated with being the Crown Prince and he would be left behind in the dust. He’d accepted it to some extent, had even tried to figure out ways around it but it’d seemed impossible. Now it’s more than possible, it’s his reality, they’re going to do the whole growing old together thing he’d only ever allowed himself to daydream about on the worst days when he needed something. He feels like he’s woken up walking on air. Even the prospect of having to train with Gladio again and being tutored after school by Ignis for hours on end can’t begin to drag him down. 

He floats between his classes in a happy daze and fills his notebooks with little doodles of arches and hearts and the Chocobo Bar chocobo mascot when he wasn’t staring at Noctis from the corner of his eye. He doesn’t pay attention in any of his classes, how could he even begin to bring himself far down enough from the clouds to focus on things like math when there’s so much already going on in his head. The day flies by peppered with stolen kisses and longing looks, entire conversations taking place in their eyes. At the end of it he hasn’t really learned anything except maybe how to kiss a little better than his first attempt.

“I got a call from my Dad earlier and he wants to meet you.” Noctis say his voice ridged in that odd faux casual way as he takes Prompto’s hand while they’re walking to his apartment. “I asked Ignis to pick us up, he’ll be waiting at the apartment if you want to go.”

Prompto’s heartbeat kicks up his chest panic licking like flame at his insides. The King, Noctis wants him to meet the King. He can feel the alarms in his head swing into full gear. He throws on a cool facade that he knows goes over as well as Noctis’ attempt. He feels too shaky, too jittery with nerves and feelings. “Are you sure that’s okay and all I mean he’s the King you know and I’m just,” He can’t even bring himself to speak it and it’s silly because Noctis knows and that means the King must know and it’s not like he’s being led into a trap or anything Noctis wouldn’t do that. The King wouldn’t need to be underhanded about this kind of thing anyway, if he had a problem with it he’d have taken care of it when he’d first approached Noctis.

“Being courted by the Prince.” Noctis finishes the sentence for him and it’s not what he thought he’d say at all, but it’s true. 

“Don’t worry about it, my Dad won’t throw you out of the country or anything. We’ve talked about this and he actually likes you or at least he likes what he’s heard of you.” Noctis says squeezing Prompto’s hand in support like that kind of knowledge doesn’t go straight to one’s head, after all he’s got the approval of the King! Him! How does this kind of thing happen to someone like him!

“And actually, that reminds me of something. I had to ask if it was okay to have this made but Dad said it was alright so go ahead and open it. He’ll be disappointed if we show up and you’re not wearing it.” He let go of Prompto’s hand and dug around in his backpack pushing things around until he found what he wanted. He pulls out a black box with the insignia of a company he’d probably never be able to afford buying anything from on his own looking it over as if to see if it had survived the trip in his backpack alright. He hands it to Prompto his face lit up with an eager grin bouncing up and down a little on the balls of his feet like a kid whose just been given a present and has to wait for everyone to finish the birthday song before he can open it.

Prompto ignores how Noctis’ eyes burn holes into his face and takes the box his free fingers lifting the lid. The warmth returns settling in his stomach like a freshly banked fire. Sitting on a bed of black velvet is a black leather wristband emblazoned with the Royal Seal covered with silver studs and buckles. His lungs feel like they could combust if he breathes as he looks down at the band so he doesn’t until it feels like they’ll shatter apart without it. He slips his faithful white and green wristband off into his pocket feeling a surge of pride run through himself for keeping his cool and secures the new band onto his wrist pressing it against his knee to hold it on while he fixes the buckles. It fits snugly, covering over the ink with glossy black leather and silver studs. The inside of the band is a suede as soft as baby chocobo down in a matte black that compliments the outside of the band. He tugs against it fingers slipping into the spaces between the buckles and smiles to himself as it stays where it is. 

“Looks good on you, and as a bonus my fingers can’t slip past this one.” Noctis’ hand finds its way back into his own his thumb tracing over the Royal Seal before he let their fingers tangle together. Warmth spreads from its place on his skin like sunshine heat and bubbles in his stomach like a fountain. 

Ignis is already in the apartment when they arrive and it would have been easy to tell he was there simply from how clean everything looked. Ignis had obviously tidied up in their absence and nothing in the apartment was left untouched except the arch which had been left in its place of honor on the coffee table. Ignis looks up at them as they enter standing to his feet in a single graceful motion as he greets them. 

“Hello Noctis, Prompto, I see congratulations are in order.” Ignis’ voice has a slight teasing lilt to it that has Prompto feeling like he’d walked into a surprise party for someone else.

“Hi Ignis.” Prompto holds up his hand in a quick wave his smile turned too wide by the sudden bout of nerves that claw at him as Ignis raises an eyebrow at him. His hand drops a bit too quickly and he curses in his head cursing the butterflies that have suddenly appeared in his stomach a riotous fluttering. “I heard that you’ve volunteered to tutor me.”

“Yes, I thought it would be a good opportunity for us to get to know each other and to prepare you for some of the challenges you’ll face as a member of Noctis’ pack.” Was he just imagining things or was Ignis looking at him differently than he usually did? He could feel something weighty in that gaze and it makes his skin feel tingly, or maybe his scent is the culprit. Ignis always smells good but there’s something different in it today, something that’s slightly peppery and sharp and offsets the cooling richness of his usual coffee and mint scent. 

Unlike Gladio who he’d only known through Noctis’ stories and complaints Prompto has met Ignis before though they never really talked much. Most of their interactions consisted of Ignis making dinner and pestering Noctis to do their homework before playing games or goofing off or Ignis driving them somewhere. Seeing him this time felt different, Ignis was always intimidating, always so well put together that it made Prompto feel self-conscious even in his best clothes. He knows that if Ignis had been the crown prince instead of Noctis he’d never have been able to work up the nerve to approach him. Somehow though he seems less stiff and more open than he ever had, he’s looking at Prompto like he’s really seeing him for the first time. He’s not sure how he feels about it, good probably, but he just doesn’t know for certain and it leaves him feeling more self-conscious than he usually feels around him.

Thankfully it’s not long before they head down to Ignis’ car and start their drive to the Citadel. The drive over is nicer than taking the train with Gladio had been but it’s still awkward to sit through. Only Noctis’ hand on his knee keeps his leg from bouncing up and down to the beat of the music that Ignis has playing on the radio. Ignis doesn’t talk while he’s behind the wheel and Prompto’s thankful for the silence even though he normally can’t stand it. They arrive at the Citadel and Prompto has to pull his badge from his wallet but it takes seconds to get in this time when it took almost a half an hour last time. 

“I’ve got a few meetings to attend, but I’ll be ready to take you home once you’re ready to go home, so feel free to text me, even if I’m still in a meeting. I’m certain the two of you can find something to do until I’m done.” Ignis says before he leaves them on the stairs of the Citadel. 

“Come on Prompto let’s go see my Dad.” Noctis says as he takes his hand leading him up the steps and into the building. 

They walk through the corridors a comfortable silence between them that’s only broken when Prompto stops to ask a question about something that catches his interest or Noctis speaks up about something he thinks Prompto will find interesting. He’s almost disappointed when they stop in front of the doors of the Throne Room.

“These shouldn’t be closed right now.” Noctis looks at the closed doors his face scrunched up like he’s looking at a difficult math problem instead of a pair of really fancy doors.

“Maybe he’s in a meeting or something? We should probably just wait until he’s ready to see us.” Prompto says after a moment a tinge of fear in his heart at the thought of interrupting something important and ruining things with Noctis’ dad, he can’t think of him as the king right now or he’ll never get through this, before he even gets the chance to make a good impression. 

“No, I’m sure it’ll be fine and if it’s not I won’t be able to open the doors anyway.” Noctis says as he turns toward the door and does something to it that makes it click and swing open. He starts to walk in and suddenly stops making a sound that Prompto’s pretty certain a human body should never make. 

“Dad Holy Shit!” Noctis shouts his body springing into motion trying to slam the door behind him and failing even as he throws all his weight into pulling it closed. 

The door remains stubbornly open his face contorting into a strange mix of panic and disgust, there’s probably a trick to closing it but whatever he’s seeing has definitely chased it out of his mind. Prompto can’t help but peek inside to see what on Eos could get Noctis so worked up. His nose burns as a wave of alpha pheromones hits him and his legs go wobbly as a haze tries to form in his mind. The scent is aggressive and territorial and something else that he doesn’t quite have the words for but it’s doing things to him. He pulls up his collar and presses his nose into the fabric filtering out just enough to keep his brain from drowning in it. 

The structure in the center of the room draws his attention first, it’s a few feet taller than he is and it’s beautiful in a dangerous way. It’s a broadsword that is designed so that it looks like it’s been thrust halfway to the hilt into the ground. It stands tall and sharp crafted from strong looking wooden poles that were flexible enough to be bent and weaved together. Shields form the fuller of the blade and swords are woven into the poles to form the sharpened edge. The grip is formed from twisted poles woven so they swirl to the top in a design that brings Noctis’ arch to mind. The pommel is a round shield surrounded by the woven poles in the same woven pattern that forms the grip. The rain guard that divides the hilt from the blade is almost the same a shield as the focal point around which twisted poles form the outside but the twisting poles jut out from the center to form the cross guard.

It's awe inspiring and a lot more complicated looking than Noctis’ arch but for some reason it just doesn’t seem to tick all the boxes in his head that Noctis’ had. Something about the simple sweeping arch had tugged at something inside him, but this sword is just pretty and really sharp. 

The low sound of growling suddenly rings out scraping nails down his spine and his eyes follow the sound his whole body flaming as he locates its source. Two alphas are at each other’s throats teeth bared and arms locked together in a contest of strength, but their faces are lit up like Insomnia after dark. They bite at each other nipping at necks and ears with growls that roll playfully around their chests, it’s almost like they’re wrestling for the fun of it because there’s nothing dangerous in their growls or the snap of their teeth. Like a lightning bolt hitting the ground it suddenly occurs to Prompto why Noctis looks like he’s going to crawl under the nearest rock and stay there until either death or insanity takes him. He knows who those alphas are, you’d have to have been living under a rock not to recognize Cor the Immortal and King Regis and honestly the word Dad was a pretty big clue. 

A hand on his shoulder pulls him back and he stumbles into the hall Noctis finally managing to pull the door closed behind him with a loud slam that rings through the corridor like a gong being struck.

“Did we just walk in on your Dad?” Prompto’s mouth runs away with him sending regret clenching at his stomach like a vice as his own inner voice chides him for his stupidity as he watches the flush on Noctis’ face darken to dangerous levels. 

“Not really but it’s still not something I want to think about.” Noctis says his face slowly returning to its normal color. They stand there in silence for a long moment with a red flush on their faces trying not to think of Dads doing that. After a too long awkward moment Noctis huffs and turns gesturing for Prompto to follow him as he shoots a look that’s more confused than angry at the door. “Let’s just go hang out in my room for a while.”


	5. Future Despair

Time compresses and stretches around Prompto as he walks just behind Noctis letting the prince lead him to his room. Each step seems to do nothing but put one foot temporarily in front of him as the hallway stretches out into eternity before him. Conversation dies on his tongue, syllables that might be questions or long unwieldy rants sink into the muscle weighing it down so much that moving it is impossible. Normally he wouldn’t have been able to resist gushing over everything in sight and he could’ve taken comfort in the steady stream of words to ward off the oppressively heavy silence, but something makes him hold his tongue. 

He’s not sure how long they’ve walked before Noctis stops in front of a door that didn’t seem to be any different from any other door they’d passed so far. It’s probably designed that way to protect Noctis or something, a bunch of doors that all look the same so you have more of a chance of accidentally walking into the linen closet than into the Crown Prince’s room if you’re some nefarious ne’er-do-well. He opens the door and waves Prompto in shutting the door behind them like he’s holding back an army of daemons. He sighs and toes off his shoes and Prompto follows, still in that post seeing my kind of boyfriend maybe even fiancé’s dad making out with someone daze. 

Prompto turns some question about what they’re going to be doing on his lips and stops his stomach doing that weird kind of flippy thing that it’s taken to doing recently. His mouth goes dry and he reflexively swallows, the thing drawing his eye surprisingly isn’t the giant TV or the wall of windows with a view to kill for but the sight of Noctis himself shining in the afternoon light looking down on the country he’ll rule over one day with an effortless regal bearing that reminds him just who he’s looking at. “Whoa.”

Watching the weight fall off of Noctis’ shoulders like it was never even there in the first place is worth the embarrassment of their little almost encounter with his Dad. Noctis’ eyes brighten his lips curling in a relieved smile as his shoulders relax. The tension he always has hidden inside him wicks away as his scent spikes filling the room in a natural claim of his space adding that touch of familiarity that transforms it from something pristine and untouchable into something that almost feels like coming home.

His cheeks flush red as he turns away before Noctis can see him staring shooting off the first thing he could think of. “That was embarrassing.”

“Tell me about it.” Noctis says as he pushes himself away from the window to flop down on the couch face first and rest his head against his crossed over arms.

“Well it could have been worse,” Prompto says his voice lilting in amusement as he turns to watch Noctis’ reaction. “They could have been naked.”

Noctis fakes gagging into the couch with disturbing accuracy and a disgusted shudder. “Don’t even joke about that, we would’ve both been scarred for life if we’d stumbled in on that.”

“Yeah,” He grunts as he flops down on the couch next to Noctis narrowly missing crushing his feet, Noctis retaliating by letting his feet drop onto his stomach with a hefty thud that almost knocks the wind out of him. “I never would’ve been able to watch a press conference with a straight face ever again.”

“You know you would’ve had to stand behind my Dad at those things one day with a dozen cameras pointed at your face. I wonder what they’d say about you looking like a mutant tomato while staring at my Dad on national television. You know how many tabloids would jump on stupid stuff like that?” He flopped over to grin at him and held up his hand sweeping it overhead to the beat of the next words he spoke in an exaggerated scandalized voice. “Crown Prince’s commoner mate caught in torrid affair with the King read all the steamy details in this month’s outrageous special edition.”

“You’re disgusting, besides if I were to be caught in a torrid affair with anyone everyone knows it would be you. Then again if we’re engaged to be mates it’s not exactly a torrid affair, guess the press will have to find something else to dig up about me.” He says smoothly ice filling his chest, his voice trailing off as his hand came up to fiddle at the band around his wrist.

“It’s a good thing you’re too much of a nerd to get into any real trouble then, they’re gonna bore themselves to death trying to dig up dirt on you. They’ll have to settle for something boring like, Crown Prince Noctis and BFF bad influence Prompto Argentum caught skipping school to play video games in the arcade, could this be the end of the Prince’s spotless school record?” He says laughing as Prompto’s lips pull down in a pout.

Prompto groaned somehow managing to push himself deeper into the couch. “We didn’t even skip, it was a half day.”

Noctis snickers and they fall into an amiable kind of silence where neither of them has to say anything at all and it’s still comfortable. They don’t even do anything but sit there looking at the remote on the coffee table like they might pick it up at any moment. Prompto sinks into it breathing deep to take in the calming tea aroma that almost makes him crave a cup. After a while Noctis even begins to sleep breathing even and heavy until it begins its inevitable transformation into snoring that’s quiet enough to be adorable instead of annoying. It’s nice at least until a loud knock on the door makes him jump right out of his skin. He grunts as he bends awkwardly over Noctis’ feet and the breath is knocked out of him.

“Come in.” Noctis yells even as he gives Prompto the stink eye for disturbing him.

The door swung open and Prompto’s entire body flushed at the sight of the King standing there with one eyebrow raised and a knowing look on his face. “Ah Noctis I was hoping that you’d still be here, Ignis came and informed me that you’d decided to show up unannounced with your intended.”

“Yeah, sorry about that, I didn’t think you’d have anything planned. Ignis told me your schedule was clear and I thought you wouldn’t mind.” Noctis says in that blasé way he does when he doesn’t want to seem as pleased as he is. 

The King chuckles and it’s so different from the way he seems on tv, almost like how a normal dad would laugh. “Normally you’d be right I wouldn’t usually mind, but I can’t say that I’m too upset and given how excited you were I should have let you know that I had other arrangements. I’m sure we’ll all be able to look back on this and laugh one day, but for now I’d like to borrow Prompto and Cor would like to have a word with you in his office as well Noctis.”

All the blood rushes from Prompto’s body like a burst dam. His voice shakes as he points at his chest face paler than paper. “You want to talk with me alone?”

“Don’t worry I won’t bite.” The King laughs with a grin that makes Prompto suspect that yes he does in fact bite. “Now if you’d follow me to my office we’ll see if we can get this over with quickly.”

“Alright.” Prompto says as he walks up to the door Noctis following close behind him. A warm hand envelops his own and gives it a tight squeeze before Noctis passes him giving his father a nod before continuing on.

He follows the King taking care not to walk too fast and get ahead, both because he doesn’t have a clue where he’s going and because the King keeps a slow pace for the sake of his knee. It’s awkward and quiet and he’s sure they’re being followed but he’s too petrified to check. The silence is only broken by the too fast thudding of his heart trying to vacate his chest with force, the sound of their footsteps echoing through the hall, and the steady beat of the King’s cane clicking against the marble floor.

“I must apologize for what you ended up walking into, when I called my son and told him I wanted to meet you I expected to have a few days to prepare.” King Regis says voice gentle as though Prompto’s a wild chocobo he’s trying to coax closer to photograph.

“It’s fine Your Majesty, I’m sorry that we walked in on you.” Prompto says absently feeling like he’s floating in the middle of the ocean in a leaky dingy during a storm. He wasn’t prepared for this, Noctis was supposed to be there when they met to keep him from saying or doing anything stupid, but now he’s alone with nothing but fear to hold back the tide of inane chatter building up inside him. It will all come to nothing if he messes this up. He’s got nothing to fall back on, no title, no money, and no special skills that would make him invaluable to have at Noctis’ side. The only thing he has going for him is that Noctis for reasons he can’t even fathom actually likes him.

King Regis chuckles his lips curling into a smile that his son must have inherited from him, that fondly amused slightly crooked tilt of his lips. “You don’t need to apologize, it wasn’t your fault, and I should have known that Noctis would be too eager to wait. Either way we cannot change the past and we have much more important matters to discuss. We’ll start with your duties as a member of Noctis’ pack, what has Noctis told you so far?”

“Not much, Your Majesty just that I’ll need a bit of extra schooling!” He says with the breathless tone of total disbelief as his stomach does some twists that have him praying to the Astrals that he doesn’t throw up in front of the King.

“I suspected as much but we won’t fault a young man for his enthusiasm and you don’t have to keep calling me your Majesty in private, Regis will do, let’s save the titles for when they’re needed.” King Regis says kindly as he pulls open the door to his office and gestures for Prompto to walk in.

“Yes, Your uh Regis Sir.” Prompto says as he forces his feet to move into the room, feeling the heat in his cheeks that he knows means he’s turned a rather unattractive shade of red.

He spies a chair that looks like the interviewee chair and sits gingerly in it as though he might combust into ash if he sits down without the right amount of propriety or whatever it is you need when you’re face to face with the King.

The King laughs not unkindly as he passes by Prompto to take a seat on the other side of the most ornate desk he’s ever seen. “Just Regis Prompto, you don’t need to call me Sir.” 

“Right, right I’m sorry Regis.” He says his voice going oddly high as it registers just how wrong it feels. It’s wrong in a way calling Noctis, Noctis or even Noct never did, there’s something more real about it now sitting in a fancy office with the King himself calling him by his first name like they actually know each other.

“It’s alright, Prompto, now I’m afraid there’s something rather unpleasant we must address before we continue on.” His body takes on a sudden weight his face suddenly serious as his eyes look right through him, like they’re peering directly into his soul. His hand reaches out hovering halfway across the desk as he gestures to Prompto’s wrist. “May I see the band Prompto?”

Prompto feels his stomach drop as his body breaks out in a cold sweat; his spine tingling with a weird not quite pain like someone’s raking their fingers down it from the inside. He swallows against his suddenly dry mouth and slowly watches his wrist move like its being pulled by a string until it rests right in front of the King’s outstretched hand wrist turned out to show off the dark leather. The King takes his hand and for a moment Prompto marvels in horrified awe at the power he feels, the strength and buzz of magic that feels like fire flickering under his skin, and the knowledge that he could be destroyed at any second with just a thought.

The King releases his hand and the feeling that he’s about to be crushed like an ant under a boot fades as he smiles and says. “You wear it well.”

“I understand that it might be hard for you Prompto, but this is something that you cannot hide from Noctis. I expect that you will tell him the truth of yourself before you bond if you haven’t already told him.” Regis says as after a long moment his voice taking on an edge that resonates in him like the ringing of a bell earnest and unrelenting.

Prompto looks down into his lap feeling a flush that he can’t stop crawling up his cheeks like bands of fire. “He knows, he told me that he figured it out and it didn’t matter to him.”

Regis grins the skin around his eyes crinkling as his eyes light up. “I’m pleased to hear that, your secret is not an easy one to bear, but your origins do not define who you are. Nonetheless there are people who will try to use it against you and against my son should they ever find out.”

“I won’t let them use me to get to him.” Prompto says firmly feeling the words like they’ve taken root in his own soul.

“I’m glad to hear it, but that isn’t the only reason why I’ve called you here. I’ll try and make this quick as I’m sure you and Noctis would like to hang out a bit more today.” Regis asks with a knowing tone that make’s Prompto’s blush grow down his chest.

“Yes we would.” He says swallowing nervously. 

Prompto’s stomach turns in on itself at the sight of Regis pulling a stack of papers as tall as his math textbook from school swaying like a gelatinous flan out of the air in front of him.

“You’ll need to read these over and have them signed by the end of the month.” The King says pushing them across the table with an apologetic smile. “Ignis and Noctis can help you with these, I don’t expect you to manage this all on your own, but you should make an effort at understanding them at least. These should be a good entry point in your education for learning the ins and outs of legal contracts.”

Prompto looks at the heavy stack like it might turn purple, grow a mouth, and try to eat him. “What is all this?”

“Your entry papers into the Crownsguard, as well as the mating contract, the bond agreement, and a few of the other legal necessities that come with such a drastic change in station.” The King says with nonchalance that does not belong with that much paperwork. “The mating contract and bond agreement are a bit old fashioned I’ll admit, but the Council will try and fight this if only to place someone they deem more fitting into the role. You have to understand, they’ve been salivating over the third position in Noctis’ court for ages. This is a position they’ve been preparing their children for and they won’t let you just waltz in and take it. Holding to tradition should get them to loosen their fingers on this matter, but even with my blessing be prepared to fight tooth and nail for your right to be here.”

“What is it about this position that’s so important, I mean it’s not like I’ll be Noctis’ Shield or his Advisor. I mean yeah I’ll be mated to Noctis but other than that I’ll just be another member of the Crownsguard right?” Prompto says his mouth running almost as quickly as the thoughts in his brain, all of them running together and tangling up.

“No, you won’t.” Regis says his voice firm and authoritative and the dad like feel that he’d exuded just moments ago gives way to the natural command of a King. “The first three Crownsguard positions always have meaning and the Marshal is a coveted position, as besides the Queen, the Advisor, and the Shield they are closest to the King and are in charge of military operations. With Cor having no children and having taken no apprentice there have been members of the Council who have seen in this absence a way to advance their positions.”

Prompto’s heart stops beating and he wishes his mouth would do the same instead it soldiers on without him spilling his doubts out along with most of the air in his lungs. “Wait the Marshal as in like Cor the Immortal the Marshal? Noctis never asked me to be the Marshal, I mean I knew I’d have to do something, but can’t I just be like the court photographer or something that I can actually do? Is all of this really necessary? Can’t I just be mated to Noctis?”

“I’m afraid so.” He says with regal sincerity. “Even if it were not a tradition for the King’s pack to be his Crownsguard you lack a title and without a title to your name you’ll have to earn one to be accepted as one Noctis of mates. Joining the Crownsguard makes you a Knight of Lucis and that will take care of the title. As for the position of Marshal, you could let it pass you by, but in doing so you would be choosing to close yourself off from Noctis. You would not be allowed to be his mate because you would not have the clearance to know the things that could slip from a tired Kings mind. You would be expected to keep your distance and act as any other member of his Crownsguard would.” 

Prompto looks down at his hands his stomach sinking to the floor. “In other words if I want to stay close to Noctis I’m going to have to be the Marshal.”

“Yes, but I have no doubt that you will grow into the position in time. Cor has already agreed that he will see to your training. You will have a lot of catching up to do; however Cor would not offer his teaching if he felt that it would be wasted. It might seem overwhelming now and I urge you to take the time and think about whether or not you truly want this, but I think in time if you choose to go through with this you’ll find that it’s the right choice for you.” Regis says back to being the concerned father.

Prompto looks down at his lap as his stomach twists and turns like a whirlwind inside him. “I’ll think about it, this is just a lot to handle right now.”

Regis smiles at him like he hasn’t just settled the future of his entire county on his unworthy shoulders. “I understand and I hope that I’ll be seeing more of you in the future.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait.


End file.
